“The Only Almost Germ-Free Continent Left”

Abstract

This article examines the role of pandemics and viruses in cultural perceptions of Antarctica over the past century. In the popular imagination, Antarctica has often been framed as a place of purity, refuge, and isolation. In a series of fiction and screen texts from the nineteenth century to the present, viruses feature prominently. The texts fall into two categories: narratives in which Antarctica is the sole source of safety in a pandemic-ravaged world and those in which a virus (or another form of contagion) is discovered within the continent itself and needs to be contained. Viruses in these texts are not only literal but also metaphorical, taking the form of any kind of threatening infection, and as such are linked to texts in which Antarctic purity is discursively connected to racial and gendered exclusivity. Based on this comparison, the article argues that ideas of containment and contagion can have political connotations in an Antarctic context, to the extent that they are applied to particular groups of people in order to position them as “alien” to the Antarctic environment. The authors show that the recent media construction of Antarctica during COVID-19 needs to be understood against this disturbing aspect of the Antarctic imaginary, and also that narratives of Antarctic purity are imaginatively linked to both geopolitical exclusions and the melting of Antarctic ice.

How the COVID-19 pandemic signaled the demise of Antarctic exceptionalism

“…This echoes the description in 1911 of Antarctica as "the only almost germ-free continent left" by the explorer Douglas Mawson, which has remained as cultural perception of the region up to and including the pandemic (20). Leane et al (20) argue that the role of pandemics and viruses has been part of the cultural perceptions of Antarctica over the past century. They propose that the recent media construct of Antarctica during the pandemic needs to be understood against this context (20).…”

“…Antarctica’s research communities were established as part of the continent devoted to peace and science and renowned for its purity ( 20 ), but they are, increasingly, subject to the same complex assemblage of drivers of change as the rest of global society. The pandemic serves as a distinct example of this that unsettled Antarctic scientific activities, tourism operations, and policy making, in ways that will take time to fully evolve and understand.…”

“…While scholars have argued more recently that environmental challenges, such as the climate crisis, and global political and financial challenges have eroded Antarctic exceptionalism by underscoring the interconnected and interdependent character of all parts of the world, the media in various countries have continued to reinforce Antarctica's position as an exceptional place, especially after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (11). This echoes the description in 1911 of Antarctica as "the only almost germ-free continent left" by the explorer Douglas Mawson, which has remained as cultural perception of the region up to and including the pandemic (20). Leane et al (20) argue that the role of pandemics and viruses has been part of the cultural perceptions of Antarctica over the past century.…”

“…Leane et al ( 20 ) argue that the role of pandemics and viruses has been part of the cultural perceptions of Antarctica over the past century. They propose that the recent media construct of Antarctica during the pandemic needs to be understood against this context ( 20 ). With this background, we now explore the unsettling impacts of the pandemic on those involved with Antarctic science, tourism operations or governance, their responses to its impacts, and how, alongside other drivers of change, the pandemic is a harbinger of a shift in the overall Antarctic discourse marked by the loss of Antarctic exceptionalism.…”